Prime Minister

The
Oxford-educated Endelkachew served as Prime Minister from
February 28 to July
22, 1974. During this period, the
Imperial government was under assault by protesting students and
striking workers who demanded investigation of corruption in the
highest levels of government, reforms in land tenure, and political
reforms as well. Endalkachew Makonnen attempted to address these
demands by presenting reforms that began to change the very nature
of the Ethiopian monarchy. The Emperor also
agreed to some of these proposals, which included the drafting of a
new constitution to replace the one adopted in 1955, and
having the Prime Minister be responsible to the elected Lower House
of Parliament rather than to the Emperor. "If this latter measure
were to go into effect, it would result in a real diminution in the
power and authority of the Crown", remarks Edmund J. Keller.

All of these actions were made to restore order and help
reestablish the legitimacy of the regime in the eyes of the general
population. However, as Keller notes, this would have been
difficult even in the best of times. Although he had support
amongst the older, well-connected members of the military, younger
radical elements in the armed forces began to work against him from
the moment he took office. Some believe this was Endelkachew's
motivation for seeking alliances with moderate military officers
with bases of support, such as Alem
Zewde Tessema, the commander of the paratrooper battalion, and
who became chair of the Armed Forces Coordinated
Committee (AFCC) on 23 March. Two days later, Alem Zewde ordered the
arrest of 30 radical airmen at the Ethiopian Air Force base at Debre Zeyit. On 30 April Endelkachew moved to placate
his opponents on the left by authorizing the arrest of the former
ministers—and his former colleagues—in the Aklilu government for corruption. Despite
these efforts, radicalism grew unchecked both in civil society and
in the military. Alem Zewde was tainted due to his support for
Endelkachew and on 22 June lost control of
his own battalion, and fled to Gojjam seeking
refuge.

That same month, 12 or 16 members of the AFCC under the leadership
of Colonel Atnafu Abate left that body
and called for a meeting of representatives from all of the
military units in Ethiopia at the headquarters of the Fourth Division, which was convened
28 June. This new committee became what was
to be known as the Derg.

Arrest

The critical event that doomed Endelkachew's administration
occurred 26 June. On that day, a group of
conservative members from the Chamber of Deputies petitioned the
Emperor for the release of some of the officials that had been
imprisoned for corruption. Numerous writers agree with Keller's
judgement that this act "was seen as a clear indication that ruling
politicians had no intention of bringing these individuals to
justice." The new military committee acted swiftly, arresting 50
more alleged culprits from the ruling classes on 30 June. Within the next two weeks, 150 more members
of not only the former government, but the current government, the
provincial administration, the nobility, and even the Imperial
family -- Iskinder Desta, the
Emperor's grandson.

Despite continued attempts to retain power, on 22 July, Prime Minister Endalkachew was arrested,
and the Derg asked Lij Mikael Imru to
assume the Prime Minister's office. Over next months, events moved
swiftly as the Derg systematically dismantled the government and
numerous public institutions. On 12
September, Emperor Haile Selassie
was formally deposed by the Derg, an act Keller describes as
"anticlimactic given the events that had unfolded since July." At
last, on November 23 Lij Endelkachew and
60 ex-officials of the former Emperor's
government were taken from Menelik Palace and to Akaki Central
Prison where they were summarily executed.

Previous posts

Lij Endelkachew had previously served in a variety of diplomatic
and political posts. He was Ethiopian Ambassador to Britain, and
later Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and was one
of the people under consideration for the post of UN Secretary General in 1972, before
Kurt Waldheim was appointed. He had
also served as minister for Posts and Communications, and had
served as the International President of the Young Men's Christian
Association (YMCA).